Thoughts for Life: #105 Rout the Devil By Praise

Dr. Wesley L. Duewel- 5. Rout the Devil by Praise. Just as in human warfare soldiers use any weapon which will help them attain victory, so in spiritual warfare the Holy Spirit may lead you to change your prayer approach from time to time.

He will lead you to such faith that your mouth becomes filled with praise to God. Satan is frustrated by praise, for he fears the name of Jesus. Praise the Lord! (Google image, Man worshipping the Lord)

"Let the saints rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds. May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands . . . to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all his saints. Praise the Lord" (Ps. 149:5-6, 8-9)!

With God's Word, your double-edged sword (Heb. 4:12) in your hand and God's praise on your lips, all the demons of hell will flee before you. Just as the Lord set ambushes (probably by angels) when the Israelites praised Him, so, as you praise the Lord, He may ambush Satan.

6. Enlist the prayer of others. There are spiritual situations of such difficulty that the prayer of many of God's prayer warriors is demanded. This is why the Lord gave the special promise to those who agree in prayer (Matt. 18:19). There is added spiritual power in united prayer.

It was after ten days of united praying by the one hundred twenty believers that Pentecost came, and three thousand were saved in one day (Acts 1:14). It was after united prayer by hundreds that the place where they were praying was shaken and God gave great grace, great power, and great harvest (Acts 23-33; 5:12-16).

It was while the Jerusalem church was earnestly praying that Peter was delivered from prison by an angel and "the word of God continued to increase and spread" (Acts 12:24).

One Mission Society began its work in India in 1941. The first twenty-five years of hard labor, sweat, tears, prayer, and fasting saw an average of one to two new local churches per year. As I flew across the Pacific to furlough in 1964, I was praying about what more we could do to see India's harvest reaped.

God led me to ask for at least one thousand prayer partners to spend fifteen minutes a day in prayer for India and our work.

A few years ago I was back in Allahabad, India, with our senior leaders during a day of prayer and report. One by one they told how mightily God was working. One of them turned to me and said, Duewel Sahib, all of us . . . all of us are seeing results beyond anything we have known."

"Praise the Lord!" I said.
He continued, "Duewel Sahib, are you surprised?"
"Yes, praise the Lord!" I replied.
"You ought not to be!" he immediately responded. "Did you not go to America and get one thousand people to pray fifteen minutes a day for us?"
"Thank you, George. I needed that reminder," I said. "Why should we be surprised when God answers prayer!"

Now our churches number about three hundred with some twenty-five thousand believers, and with twenty-five or more new churches established every year. One thousand prayer warriors united in praying for harvest was the secret!

The greater the spiritual resistance, the more difficult is your task of moving the mountain before you. The more entrenched Satan is, the greater the need of enlisting the support of more and more prayer warriors to drive him out. It may take multiplied prayer times and longer hours than you had anticipated, but as sure as God is in heaven, in due season you will reap if you do not give up (Gal. 6:9).

(Chapter 28, p. 211-213, italics added for emphasis)

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Let's pray-

Father, may we use the weapon Your Spirit gives us from time to time to frustrate Satan; namely, to give praise in Jesus' name! With our double-edged sword in our hands, our praises will ambush Satan.

As there will be spiritual situations of such difficulty that the prayers of many of Your prayer warriors is demanded, may we be united in prayer. As great grace, great power and great harvest is needed, help us be faithful to answer the call to prayer.

May we understand that when there's spiritual resistance in moving a mountain where Satan is more entrenched, the greater the need is of enlisting the support of more and more prayer warriors to drive him out. Many times of such prayer, may be needed to succeed.

As You are Faithful to hear and answer our prayers for help, Father, we must remember that in due season, we will reap if we don't give up! In the name of Jesus we come to You today. Amen

Today's Bible verses-

Galatians 6:9, 2 Thessalonians 3:13, Hebrews 12:3 “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary … do not grow weary of doing good. … For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Eph. 4:32 "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."

Quote for today-

~ Sara Steele- "It is important you learn to listen inside to what God is speaking to you. Effective prayer is not one-sided—making your requests and hoping God answers. Instead, it is communication from both sides. It includes praising and worshipping Him, expressing your thanks for His goodness and blessings, making requests for his help, listening to what He tells you, and receiving His peace and joy.

That sounds like a lot, but it is just the same as communicating with someone you love. You compliment the ones you love. You're thankful when they help you. You talk to them and they respond back. You get to know each other's will because you communicate often. It is no different with God." [p. 22 of her book, PRAYING THROUGH]

Words of wisdom-

~ As Christians, or challenge is to allow the light of Christ to shine out to others. His bringing changes in us will cause folks to take note that our lives reflect His light, and has influenced us from basking in His love and light.

Today's question-

What should be the reason Christians go to church?

Is it not to worship Father God for His provision of Salvation, daily love and care for His people who are devoted to Him? Isn't it because we love Him? Romans 12:1-2 tells us that we are to be living sacrifices, proving our love for Jesus.

When we gather together in buildings, or view the services on internet under the present restrictions, we have the opportunity to express what can only happen when we are unified. Judson Cornwall said, "Worship is love responding to love."

Psalms 146, 147, 148 and 149, along with verse 6 in Psalm 150, encourage us to praise the Lord. God has made it plain that when we worship anything in His place, He becomes angry. It is His will that we respond to His Love for us, as He first loved us, and gave His only Son to save us. As all creation was created to worship the Creator, we are not an exception, in fact, we are the most important ones, as we are created in God's very image!

Our having opportunities to express our hearts' praises, will give us times of refreshing our faith by His presence with us as we gather together. If we don't worship, Jesus said that the created stones will cry out their worship. Let's not let them take our place of worship, as we have so much to be thankful for, my friend.

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